Yesterday I had the most amazing and inspiring phone call ever. A man called Ray called me from Cornwall, 2km from where Oli was already but totally randomly literally on his way to (thanks to Katharine), and basically said that he wants to entrust his land to a community very much like the commons creation collective - i.e. one with shared values (create a whole new economic system based on new land ownership and monetary systems etc.) he can grow to trust and love. He's got an 1.5 acre and … [Read more...]
Commons Creation meeting
The first Commons Creation meeting took place on Sunday 21st January: So far I've got some great groups signed up to the collective: Peace Not War: https://peace.fm The Synergy Project: https://thesynergyproject.org OneTaste: https://onetaste.co.uk Movimientos: https://www.movimientos.org.uk/ (site down!) they bring together all the Latin America solidarity groups and do regular monthly events with film and music. This is just the beginning, but together these groups already regularly … [Read more...]
Dancing with Systems: What to do when systems resist change
What to do when systems resist change; an excerpt from Donella Meadows's unfinished last book. By Donella Meadows (Whole Earth Winter 2001) Quick Summary of Points. Get the beat. Listen to the wisdom of the system. Expose your mental models to the open air. Stay humble. Stay a learner. Honor and protect information. Locate responsibility in the system. Make feedback policies for feedback systems. Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable. Go for the … [Read more...]
Designing an Open Organisation
Another extract from a recent e-mail... As for organisational structure, I think you and Imogen are both right. You need to define and be explicit about your structure, but operational units should have as much autonomy as possible within their defined limits/remit. People investing more time and energy in the project can still have more say about how stuff is done. Afterall, it seems fair that those doing the more implementation work should have more say in decisions about how, and what, work … [Read more...]